Slug casting machine throat



c. E. WEBSTER 3,012,655

SLUG CASTING MACHINE THROAT Dec. 12, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb 29, 1960 CECIL E. WEBSTER INVENT OR.

ATTORNEY Ute s tes The present invention relates to typographical slug casting machines and more particularly to an improvement for the throat and mouthpiece thereof.

Conventional typographical slug casting machines include a metal pot having an upwardly inclined throat terminating horizontally adjacent the mold, which is in contact with type matrices. The horizontally disposed ejection end of the throat is necessarily positioned slightly above the level of hot metal contained by the pot. This machine includes a pump and plunger mechanism within the pot which, when actuated, forces metal through the throat to form a type-slug having predetermined characters on one edge surface. Since the level of the metal is below the ejection end of the mouthpiece, a certain quantity of air is trapped between the rising metal and the mold holding the type matrices. Grooves are formed in one surface of the conventional mouthpiece adjacent the hot metal ejection holes or apertures therein for the escape of air trapped by the metal; but, these grooves do not provide sufiicient room for the ejection of all the trapped air. This results in some of the air being trapped Within the cast slug and many times results inone or more characters formed by the slug dropping out or being forced inwardly of the slug when the same is locked up on a chase and a matrix is molded therefrom. This undesirable forming of air pockets in the cast type-slug occurs more frequently when casting a line of type of relatively short length, for example, 12 picas or less. This occurs as a result of the entire volume of air, trapped between the rising metal and the mold, being forced out of the throat with, or forwardly of the metal in this restricted space.

It is, therefore, the principal object of the instant invention to provide an improved construction of the mouthpiece of a slug casting machine which will trap all of the air within the throat except that portion equal to the width of the slug to be cast.

Another object is to provide an improved mouthpiece which may be easily connected to or installed on existing typographical slug casting machines.

- Another object is to provide an improved throat for slug casting machines.

Another object is to provide a device of this class which is sturdily constructed without any moving parts to become worn or get out of order.

The present invention accomplishes these and other objects by connecting means to one side of the mouthpiece of a slug casting machine for forming a plurality of rectangular or circular air trapping chambers within the eject-ion end portion of the throat of the machine.

Other objects will be apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying two sheets of drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary vertical cross-sectional view of a typographical slug casting machine;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary vertical cross-sectional view of the casting machine throat portion of FIG. 1, to an enlarged scale, illustrating the device in operative position;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of a conventional slug casting machine mouthpiece, illustrating the improvement connected thereto;

FIGURE 4 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of the device illustrated in FIG. 3;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary elevational view of the front surface of the conventional mouthpiece; and,

Patented Dec. 12, 1961 FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of an alternate manner of modifying the mouthpiece.

Like characters of reference designate like parts in those figures of the drawings in which they occur.

In the drawings:

The reference numeral 10 indicates a conventional typographical slug casting machine supported by a frame, a portion of which is shown and indicated by the numeral 12. The frame 12 supports a heated metal pot 14 containing a selected quantity of molten metal 15. The pot 14 includes a cylinder 16 which is in communication, at its depending end, with a throat 18 forming a part of the pot. The cylinder 16 is equipped with a pump and plunger, indicated generally by the numeral 20, which, when actuated, forces molten metal through the throat. The throat 18 terminates at one side of the pot in a substantially rectangular horizontally disposed throat portion 22 which is closed by a mouthpiece 24. The level of the molten metal 15 is slightly below the throat portion 22 to preclude entry of metal into the mold until the pump is actuated. The mouthpiece 24 is in contiguous contact with a mold 2-6, when casting a type slug, which supports a selected plurality of individual type matrices 28. The mouthpiece is conventional and includes a horizontal row of relatively small apertures 30 which extends horizontally through the mouthpiece to provide communication between the hori zontal end of the throat 22 and a slug forming recess 3-2 in the mold. The slug recess 32 is open, at one end, to the type characters formed on the matrices 28. The surface of the mouthpiece, contacting the mold, is provided with a vertically extending narrow groove or recess 34 positioned between each respective pair of apertures 30. These grooves 34 are intended to provide a means of escape or dispersion of all of the air trapped in the mold recess 3-2 by the metal 15 entering the recess.

In one arrangement of the invention, a pair of plates 40 and 42 are connected to one side 44 of the mouthpiece, opposite the grooves 34, in vertical spaced parallel relation above and below, respectively, the row of apertures 30. The plates 4t} and 42 extend laterally of the mouthpiece side 44 contacting the throat opening, and are each disposed at a slight angle downwardly inclined from the vertical surface 44, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, to be closely received by the upper and lower surfaces, respectively, of the walls forming the throat end portion 22. A plurality of vanes or partitions 46, arranged vertically in parallel spaced-apart relation, divide the space between the plates 40 and 42 to form a plurality of air trapping chambers 48. The opposing wall surfaces, forming the throat portion 22,, are milled to insure a cooperatingly close fit of the plates ill and 42, and the respective outermost partitions 46, with the throat wall surfaces. As shown in FIG. 4, the partitions are preferably spaced so that each air chamber is in communication with no more than three of the mouthpiece apertures 30.

Obviously the plates 40 and 42 and the vanes 46 may be formed integrally and then connected to the mouthpiece if desired.

Another or alternate arrangement of the invention is illustrated in FIG. 6 wherein a plurality of small tubes 50 are each connected at one end to the mouthpiece surface 44 around each respective aperture 30. The tubes 50 are similarly inclined downwardly from the surface of the mouthpiece and project into the throat end portion 22 to form an air trapping chamber in communication with each respective aperture 30.

The distance that the plates and vanes or tubes extend into the throat may be varied as desired to provide air trapping chambers in accordance with the level of the fluid l5 maintained within the throat.

Operation In operation, a desired len th of the slug to be molded is predetermined and is governed by mold liners, not shown, which block off or close the apertures 30 from one end of the mouthpiece thus leaving only a selected number of the chambers 48 open to the mold forming recess 32; for example, in FIG. 4, the first three chambers, indicated at 48a, 48b and 480, are in communication with the mold recess 32 through nine of the apertures while the remaining seven air chambers are closed by the mold liners. When the pump 20 is actuated, molten metal is forced outwardly through the throat opening 22 and the greater portion of air contained by the throat will be trapped in the seven chambers blocked off; thu only the air trapped in the chambers 48a, 43b and 480, will be ejected through the mouthpiece in front of the metal which forms the cast slug, not shown. Air trapped in the remaining air chambers is simply compressed by the hot metal and is not forced out of the apertures 30 communicating with the three chambers 48a, 43b and 480. The conventional grooves 34, formed in the surface of the mouthpiece adjacent the mold, normally provide sufficient escape for the air trapped by these three chambers.

The modified form of the mouthpiece, illustrated by FIG. 6, insures that air contained by the throat will be trapped in all of those tubes closed oil? by the mold liners, not shown, thus insuring that the only air forced into the mold recess 32, which must escape through the grooves 34, will be only the air contained by those tubes connected with the predetermined number of apertures required to form a particular slug.

It seems obvious that when constructing a new typographical slug casting machine the partitions 46, or their equivalent, may be formed as an integral part of the throat opening 22, thus eliminating the necessity of the connecting plates 40 and 42.

Obviously the invention is susceptible to some change or alteration without defeating its practicability, and 1 therefore do not wish to be confined to the preferred embodiment shown in the drawings and described herein, further than I am limited by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a typographical slug casting machine equipped with a metal pot having a throat terminating outwardly of the pot in a horizontally disposed end and having a pump for forcing molten metal through the throat, said machine having a mouthpiece interposed between the ejection end of the throat and a matrix holding slug casting mold, the improvement comprising: a pair of plates connected to said mouthpiece in vertical spaced relation and projecting laterally therefrom into said throat; and a plurality of passageway forming partitions extending vertically in spaced-apart relation between said plates and between groups of the apertures in said mouthpiece.

2. In a typographical slug casting machine equipped with a metal pot and pump, said pot having a laterally extending metal ejection throat terminating in an open end and having a mouthpiece interposed vertically between the open end of the throat and a slug casting mold, said mouthpiece having a horizontal row of apertures providing communication between the throat and mold, the improvement comprising: a pair of plates connected to said mouthpiece in spaced relation above and below said row of apertures, said plates projecting laterally of said mouthpiece into said throat; and a plurality of spaced-apart partitions extending vertically between and secured to said plates and said mouthpiece, said partitions forming a like plurality of elongated molten metal and air passageways.

3. in a typographical slug casting machine equipped with a metal pot and pump, said pot having a laterally extending metal ejection throat terminating in an open end and having a mouthpiece interposed vertically between the open end of the throat and a slug casting mold,

said mouthpiece having a horizontal row of apertures providing communication between the throat and mold, the improvement comprising: a pair of plates connected by one side edge to said mouthpiece in spaced relation above and below said row of apertures, said plates extending laterally of said mouthpiece into said throat, the spacing between the upper surface of the upper plate and the lower surface of the lower plate being substantially equal to the vertical spacing between the upper and lower surfaces defining the opening of said throat; and a plurality of space-apart partitions extending vertically between and secured to said plates, said plates and said partitions forming a like plurality of molten metal and air passageways.

4. In a typographical slug casting machine equipped with a metal pot and pump, said pot having a laterally extending metal ejection throat terminating in an open end and having a mouthpiece interposed vertically between the open end of the throat and a slug casting mold, said mouthpiece having a horizontal row of apertures providing communication between the throat and mold, the improvement comprising: a pair of laterally extending substantially rectangular plates connected to said mouthpiece in spaced relation above and below said row of apertures, said plates projecting a substantial distance into the open end of said throat and contiguously contacting the respective upper and lower surfaces of the wall forming the open end of said throat; and a plurality of partitions connected in parallel spaced-apart relation to said plates and the adjacent surface of said mouthpiece in substantially perpendicular relation wtih respect to the adjacent surface of the mouthpiece, said plates and said partitions forming a like plurality of elongated substantially rectangular molten metal and air passageways, each said passageway communicating with not more than three of the apertures in said mouthpiece.

5. In a typographical slug casting machine equipped with a metal pot and pump, said pot having a laterally extending metal ejection throat terminating in an open end having a mouthpiece interposed vertically between the open end of the throat and a slug casting mold, said mouthpiece having a horizontal row of apertures providing communication between the throat and mold, the improvement comprising: a pair of laterally extending substantially rectangular plates connected to said mouthpiece in spaced relation above and below said row of apertures, said plates projecting a substantial distance into the open end of said throat and contiguously contacting the respective upper and lower surfaces of the wall forming the open end of said throat; and a plurality of partitions connected in parallel spaced-apart relation to said plates and the adjacent surface of said mouthpiece between groups of apertures in said mouthpiece and in substantially perpendicular relation with respect to the adjacent surface of the mouthpiece, said plates and said partitions forming a like plurality of elongated substantially rectangular air trapping chambers with the longitudinal axis of said throat.

6. In a typographical slug casting machine equipped with a metal pot and pump, said pot having a laterally extending ejection throat, said throat having opposing wall surfaces defining a substantially rectangular horizontal disposed open end, the improvement comprising: a pair of substantially rectangular plates transversely projecting into and closely received by the respective opposing upper and lower surfaces of the open end portion of said throat; and a plurality of partitions extending between and connected with said plates, said plates and said partitions forming a like plurality of molten metal and air elongated passageways.

7. In a typographical slug casting machine equipped with a metal pot and pump, said pot having a laterally extending ejection throat, said throat having opposing wall surfaces defining a substantially rectangular horizontally disposed open end, the improvement comprising:

a plurality of partitions extending vertically into said throat and connected in parallel spaced-apart relation to the respective opposing upper and lower surfaces of the end portion of the walls of the throat defining the open end, said partitions forming a series of elongated substantially rectangular air trapping chambers longitudinally parallel with respect to the longitudinal axis of the throat.

8. In a typographical slug casting machine equipped with a metal pot and pump, said pot having a laterally extending metal ejection throat terminating in an open end and having a mouthpiece interposed vertically between the open end of the throat and a slug casting mold, said mouthpiece having a horizontal row of apertures providing communication between the throat and mold, the improvement comprising: a plurality of juxtaposed tubular members each connected at one end to said mouthpiece around each respective aperture in said mouth- 5 piece, said tubular members forming elongated passageways projecting laterally of said mouthpiece into the opening formed by said throat.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 764,116 Dodge July 5, 1904 2,192,220 Brandon Mar. 5, 1940 2,247,996 Griffith July 1, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No; 3 012 655 December 12,, 1961 Cecil E0 Webster It is hereby oertifiedthet error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 4 line 58 after "axis" insert of each air trapping chamber parallel with the longitudinal axis --u Signed and sealed this 1st day of May 1962;

(SEAL) Attest:

ERNEST We- SWIDER DAVID LADD Attesting Officer j Commissioner of Patents l i I i 

